After my first week in St Petersburg it was time to get the overnight train to Moscow. There are trains that only take around 4 hours to get there but these are much more expensive so 9 hours on an overnight train was the way to go for me! This was to be my second trip to Moscow in a year as I had visited Moscow at the end of my TransSiberian trip last December and I was interested to see what the city would be like without the bitingly cold wind and frozen toes.
In December I stayed in Fabrika Hostel which is in the former Red October chocolate factory. This was extremely good value for money, close to a metro stop and just across the river from the Kremlin. However, in December even the 10 minute walk across the bridge to the metro seemed like a full on trek.
I have actually been to Moscow three times now but the third time was only for a day in between a train and flight hence why there is no blogging material from this, unless you want to hear about the 3 trips I made to McDonald’s in order to use the wifi. All three times I’ve been to Moscow I have been disappointed as the one thing I reeeeeally want to do is see dead Lenin. I’m not sure why I want to see this so badly but I do, and each time the Mausoleum has been closed! This definitely warrants another trip back to Moscow at some point in the future. I’ll probably phone up the Mausoleum management to check it is actually open though as I may cry if this happens for the 4th time.
The obligatory trip to the Kremlin was done and we were treated to a visit from the Brazilian president which was all rather grand!
The next day we went to Novodevichy convent and the cemetery where you just need to pick a famous Russian name and it’s highly likely you’ll be able to find their grave, provided they’re dead of course. Our grave search was cut short when we all decided that we couldn’t feel our toes and it went from being fun to being a race against frostbite.
When I went to Moscow in the summer I spent most of my time walking around outside or sat in parks. The most interesting of these parks has to be the VDNKh park due to the amount of space themed sights and attractions. The main part of the park is an area with fairground type rides for children and where extremely out of date music is blasted out of loud speakers. The Monument to the Conquerors of Space is by far the dominating attraction in this area of Moscow and has been around since 1964.
The Travelling Brit 
Great pics, but the last b/w is fabulous. Ken
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